CAREER

This marked the beginning of an illustrious career that would span over four decades. As her performances were highly appreciated by the packed audience, well-known dramatist Dick Dias chose her for two of his stage plays, "Jana Kiharanaya" and "Mayawathie". She was now flooded with stage dramas, as she became Mayawathi in Charles Dias' 'Mayawathi', Juliet in a Sinhala adaption of Romeo and Juliet, playing the lead female role in all of them.
With her first audio recording of the famous song "Siri Buddhagaya Vihare" with Master H. W. Rupasinghe in 1938, she captured the hearts of the masses and she shaped her career from that of an actress to that of an actress turned singer.


Her unique voice attracted many music directors, as her singing career moved from the stage to the silver screen.


It was also, around this time that her name underwent a change from Daisy Daniels to the well known 'Rukmani Devi'. There are two schools of thinking as to how the name "Rukmani Devi" originated. According to one school, the late H. W. Rupasinghe maestro created the name, while the other believe that Jayantha Weerasekara and Michael Sannas Liyanage who is in his 90s, created it ^.
B. A. W. Jayamanne, founder of "Minerva Dramatic Club" of Negombo took Rukmani to perform remarkable roles in his interestingly featured dramas, such as 'Apparition', 'Broken Promise', 'Changing Fate, 'Defeated Aim', 'Evasive Denial', 'Fanatic Faith', 'Grisly Guardian', 'Hasty Decision' and lastly 'Irangani'. Above-mentioned plays followed the English alphabet.

Since the role she played as Ranjani' in 'Kadavunu Poronduwa' she has played in more than 60 movies such as Peralunu Iranama, Hadisi Vinishya, Perakadoru Bena, Weradunu Kurumana, Kapati Arakshakaya, Kele Handa, Umathu Vishvasaya, Siriyalatha, Iranganie, Daiva Yogaya,Mangalika,Nalagana,Samiya Birindage Deviyaya,Kusumlatha, Heta Pramada Wadiy,Magula Poruwa,La Dalu and Magul Poruwa.


FIRST SINHALA FILM KADAWUNU PORONDUWA (BROKEN PROMISE)-1947